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2014-01-26 - Catch That Hat!
Just north of Times Square, past the theatre district is a small but sizeable park. Bryant Park! It's got food stands, leftover holiday stands, a skating rink, and has its own block or two, surrounded by streets and buildings. Jono's here, sitting on a bench. He'd already paid for his skate rental and the opportunity to skate, and is trying to lace the bloody things on. Adam arrives, looking a little frustrated. He's in his normal clothing-- trenchcoat, boots, etc-- though sticking out of one of the pockets of the trenchcoat is a fleece fish-shaped hat. He swings by to rent a set of skates himself, and then drops onto the bench beside Jono, tugging his boots off to start putting on the skates. "Long time," Adam says after a moment, a hand running through his blonde-rooted purple spikes. "Been a bit... insane. Insane is a good word. ...for me the past couple months. Haven't seen you since the music show." With the Russians. And the bullets. Looking up, Jono recognized the purple-haired boy. He finished lacing on his skates, before pulling his gloves back on. After all, it was goddamn cold. He wasn't sure how to respond to Adam when he was addressed. Should he sign? He wasn't going to talk, as he wasn't wearing his fancy little device. < Insane, eh? > Jono asked. < You n'me both, mate. Sorry 'bout the intrusion. Don't worry. Can't read it, jes' speak in it. Are... are yer holdin' up okay? Sorry I didn't go to the services, I didn't see the info when I tried to find it. > The services for Adam's friends that were tragically killed. Adam tugs on the skates. "Heh. They... didn't have any. Nobodies, all of us. 'Cept Clara. And her Dad was some sort of mob guy, so not like it would have been good to go to that one." He shrugs. He's been trying to ignore the gloom from that for awhile. Easier to pretend otherwise. "And no, it's fine, right? The head thing." He signs 'its too cool', before standing up, wobbling. < Just lemme know if yer get uncomfortable. Yeah, I'm a mutant, so what? > he tried not to sound bitter. When he stood up, he had his legs spread just so, an awkward triangle of a man as he wobble-stepped towards the entrance to the rink. Jono pulled his scarf a little more tightly over his face, in case he'd slip and lose it. That would be bad. < How've things been insane for yer, eh? > "Mutants don't bother me." Adam wobbles his way towards the ice. "And eh. Back in the stupid foster system. But at least I'm with a foster dad that doesn't suck now. I got some hassle for those mob goons, but whatever-- it's mostly handled." Mostly. You know. His record would be sealed at 18, there's that. "And I'm living out in Muscle Beach now. Have my own room and everything." < Muscle Beach, eh? There's a joke in there, somewhere. But it's good t'have yer own place, > Jono said with a nod. He didn't smile; he couldn't. Once Jono was out on the ice, he slid forward, wobbled, threw his arms out, and fell, immediately landing on his backside. < Bugger! > "It's my foster dad's new place," Adam explains, and then Jono falls. He tries to help Starsmore up, but overbalances, falling down beside him. "Dammit..." and the kid tries to pull himself up. "This is bullshit." Jonothon Starsmore clambered over to the railing on the side, pulling himself up awkwardly. He shifted, legs flailing just so, before he ended up doing an uncomfortable-looking set of splits before falling once more, just hanging on the rail, helpless-like. Then he started laughing. Just a light sort of psychic laugh. < Bullshit, maybe, but a helluva lot better'n wot we've been through! > Adam begins laughing too, dragging himself over to railing as well. Then he sees that where he had fallen, the hat he had in his pocket had fallen onto the ice. His eyes widen, and he shoves away from the wall, diving towards the hat. A skater moves through the area, and the hat gets thrown further into the ice. "Dammit. I gotta get that hat," the purple haired teen says over his shoulder, trying to make his way towards the green and blue fleece. Jonothon Starsmore saw that hat. There was something familiar about it. Jono's brows furrowed as he tried to get to his feet again. Getting enough balance where he could push himself, he did so. He started to skate. He kept his balance... just a little. Leaned on one foot. Pushed with the other. He was going! Great! But he wasn't watching where he was going. A kid crashed right into him, and Jonothon toppled, complete with youngster, to the ice. Jono stared up at the night sky, cursing the world. At least he was close to the hat, though he didn't yet realize it. Another swipe, and the hat gets flung to near the other side of the rink. "For the love of..." Adam scowls, frustrated. He turns, reaching over to try and help Jono up. "Come on, man." < That hat looks familiar. Little tan girl wears hats like that. Wait, is *that* yer Molly? > he asked. < Cor, she saved me from a taxi. She's like... > he gave Adam a look. < Must be a crush, eh? Didn't know she went for blokes like us. > Helped to his feet, Jono did one thing - he squatted, and started to pull himself with his gloved hands over the ice. This was embarrassing, but what choice did he have? "She's not /mine/," Adam insists. "And apparently she... uh... does. Like. Guys like... look, come on, man, we'll move together, maybe it'll help." He looks over. "Where'd it go?" Sure enough, the hat wasn't anywhere in immediate sight. Starsmore kept a wary eye about. Right now, he didn't care if he looked a fool. It'd be a bad idea if that hat got lost or worse. Molly was a nice girl. And Jono knew how strong she was. It'd be bad for Adam if he made her cry. < Funny, she never flirted with me. > "You wouldn't want it, man." Adam looks around for the hat, near desperately. "She can punch you to the moon? So... yeah. Crazy. Not a good idea." And he wasn't wanting her to rage out and do that to him. His hawk-like vision scans the area-- and... THERE. A bit of the blue and green fleece. He flings himself forward towards the bit of fabric. "C'mon. I am not gonna be a hawk-stronaut." < The bloody hell is a hawkstronaut? > Jono asked as he still crept closer and closer to that batch of fleece. < C'mon, mate, yell at folks to get out of the way. I'll terrify 'em if I try. > "Like an astronaut. But a hawk. Because moonpunching." Adam makes sense to Adam. And of course, the people around him are giving him strange looks, since he's 'talking to himself'. He kicks off the ice, diving forward, snagging the hat in his fingers. "Got it," he says triumphantly. < Woo! > Jono exclaimed, giving a thumbs up before hitting a wall face-first. < Oof! > He slumped, before reaching for the rails to pull himself to his feet once more. < This almost seems a bust. Not worth losin' that hat over, yeah? > "No way, man. Not worth it. I saw her throw a /tank/ once." Adam shakes his head. "I would rather not be on the receiving end of that, not me." He rolls the fabric in his fingers a bit. "Not sure why she left it with me, but whatever. I'll get it back to her next time I see her." < Well, then let's scoot, > Jono said, hanging to the rail as he headed to the exit. < Too dangerous, this place. Not gonna ask why she gave it to yer, anyhow. That's yer business. > Adam nods. "Let's bounce." And as quickly as he can manage, he's off the ice, on a bench, and switching the skates back out for his boots. Those, at least, don't suck. Jonothon Starsmore was doing much the same! Sure, it was a wasted ten bucks, but what choice did one have? He didn't have skates of his own. Skates off, boots on, Jono wobbled on his feet a little. < Ooh, feels weird to have that stability again. Wot's next, eh mate? > he asked the purple-haired fellow. < Cor, it's... good t'have friends again, yeah? > "No clue," Adam shrugs. "I'm up for most things. And yeah." He nods. "It is. If Julian wasn't busy, I'd see if he wanted to meet up, too-- he's usually pretty fun as well." < Eh, > was all Jono said about Julian. < I could go anywhere, I guess. We could see a show down in St. Mark's or just wander, or wotever. I'm easy. > "Sounds like a plan." Adam gets to his feet, shouldering his backpack again. "Lead on, MacDuff."